Dig Me Up From Under
by nightcaller
Summary: When Bella arrives home from visiting her dad she realizes things have changed a bit over the summer. A new guy has moved to town and it appears that her friends aren't quite the friends they used to be. AH, E/B with a touch of Jake
1. Chapter 1 Dig

**DISCLAIMER: Do we really need these anymore? Not mine.**

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><p>Chapter One:<p>

"Hey Bella?"

Alice is looking at me with a daring smirk on her face as we sit on the edge of the practice field.

I look at her as the whistles blow, the sun beams down and my skin warms. I roll my eyes but smile back at her. Alice excites me. I never know what to expect from her. Usually it's trouble... but it's always fun, so I ask her what she wants.

She leans over, her shoulder touching mine, as we both look straight onto the field. She palms the back of my head, moving it to focus on number thirty-seven.

I can hear the smile in her voice as her lips touch my ear when she says "I dare you to go get Jake's car keys out of the locker room and take us to Mase's house."

I look at her and smile. I know that Jake will be out here all day. I've heard the girls talk about this guy Mase ever since I got back from visiting my dad. My girls always get excited about new guys. I won't lie. I do to. So I take her up on her dare.

I hop up, on my feet, and grab her hand pulling her to stand, as she says "I'll meet you in the parking lot." I hear Alice interrupt Rosalie and Tanya's ogling over the players on the field as I walk away, looking over my shoulder at Jake. He's got sweat pouring from his neck as he stands in position for the next play. He's posed with one leg stretched out in front of the other, knees slightly bent, arms hanging at both sides... ready to sprint as soon as the ball goes into play. I watch his fingers wiggle as the gravity pulls them towards the ground and he anticipates the run. Just before I reach the hill, he catches my movement and looks my way, giving me a wink with a sexy smirk.

I love him.

I head up the hill, into the side entrance of the athletics building, toward my destination as I still hear the girls giggling about how hot the new coach is. I think his name is Coach Cullen. I eyeballed him from afar before I opened the door. I didn't notice anything special but I'd never ventured into the old man stage. That guy had to be at least twenty-six. Fuck that.

I reach Jake's locker with my hand over my mouth, wondering how long I can last in here without breathing... praying to God that I won't have to touch anything to get to his keys.

I can feel the anxiety building from the musty smell alone. Hand sanitizer doesn't cut it for me. I will need time for a full-on decontamination if anything bacteria-ish touches me.

I see his hat hanging on the inside hook and his bag lying below. After unzipping the bag I find a clean change of clothes, a CD, a torn, folded piece of paper with curly writing sticking out on one corner, and a pack of big red gum. Jake always had a piece of big red in his mouth.

_Always._

I slide a piece of gum out of the pack and drop it back into the bag. The pack falls on top of the piece of paper. As much as I want to pretend that I'm better than this and have more integrity than to snoop through Jake's things, my curiosity gets the best of me. So, instead of zipping the bag and snatching the keys, I do what any other girl would do. I pick up the piece of paper, unfold it, and read it.

When I feel my blood get hot, I make sure to lay the piece of paper face up, on top of his zipped bag. Adrenaline rushes through me as I decide that I don't care what I have to touch to make it out of this locker room, I just need to grab the keys and I'm out of here.

Reaching for his hat, I can see the keys dangling from the gold hook as I lift it. My mission is complete. I snatch the keys from the hook, throw on Jake's hat, the hat that _I_ motherfucking bought him. The hat that he wouldn't be wearing again, and I leave the building feeling that familiar knot in my throat- the tremble of nervous energy that feeds my determination as I grip the keys in my hand.

She doesn't know that I read the note. All that matters now is that I know exactly who _she_ is. And as they say... keep your friends close and your enemies closer, I was about to make sure Alice didn't leave my sight.

I'll be _more_ than obliged to take her to Mase's house today.

**A/N: No beta, all mistakes are mine... sorry. Thanks so much to any and all of you that stop by for a read, alert, favorite and review. Your reviews mean so much :) I can't wait for you guys to meet Mase. He's a little intense with a side of confidence... just how I like him, I hope you like him too.**


	2. Chapter 2 Dig

**DISCLAIMER: It hasn't changed from chapter one. Still not mine. A little inspiration from Edward Cullen, Dick For Hire by FictionFreak95 (FL95 back then) is snuggled somewhere in this chapter. Can you find it?**

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><p>Chapter Two<p>

Screw Jake and screw Alice.

The fact that they're both my best friends makes me feel so mad that I don't know if I can pull this off without letting Alice know what I know, but I'm damn sure gonna try.

I don't look at any of them as I near Jake's jeep. I just pop the locks with the key fob, and open the driver side door scowling, "Get in."

"I bet he fucks like a centaur."

"I bet he'll fuck me like a centaur." I hear Rose and Tanya going back and forth about the new coach.

"I bet his balls are wrinkled," I say as I crank the jeep and turn the radio to the most aggressive rock I can find. I'm shaking mad stilll.

Three deep breaths.

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One

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Two

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Three

"Bella you're gonna die when you see Mase. The boy is hot."

Yup. Leave it to Alice to scope out _all_ the hot guys.

_My_ hot guy.

I bet she'll leave _Mase,_ whoever the fuck that is, a cute little piece of notebook paper with her cute little number on it_ too_.

I look at her across from me as she attempts to plug her iPod in. I put my hand over the car stereo with a simple smile and a "Not right now. I drive, I dj."

She just stares at me. I feel the tension mount and I can sense that she feels it too. I caught her off guard being short with her. That normally isn't me.

Normally my best fucking friends didn't slip their numbers into my boyfriends gym bag.

Deep breaths. Again.

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.

.

"Where am I going?" I ask as I pull out of our school parking lot while glancing into the rear-view mirror to see Rose and Tanya, in the backseat, going through Jake's CD's.

"Ooooh Bella! Play this one please! I haven't heard this in so long."

"Just keep going straight. His house is about five miles up on the right. You can't miss it. I'll tell you when to slow down."

Alice pulls some lip gloss out of her bag and swats me on the leg. "Hey you. What's wrong? I feel like you're grumpy all of the sudden."

I reach behind to grab the CD Rose is passing me and look at Alice as she puts lip gloss on. I look back to the road, "Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm just a little off today. You mind letting me borrow that?" I point to her lips. "I left my purse at home today."

Just talking to Alice like nothing is wrong makes me feel a little better... a little more in control. I'm able to rein my attitude in and put my game face on for the next few hours, until I can get home and figure out exactly how I'm going to handle this. After all, it isn't like she wrote 'Call me later, let's fuck' on the note. I've just got to keep my cool until I know exactly what's going on.

Oh... hello rationality. Thanks for joining us today.

When I hear a loud "Ooooh" from the backseat, I turn the volume up while 2Pac's _I get around_ sounds from the speakers. I lose myself in the old-school beat until I hear Alice say "Slow down. This is it right up here on the right, where all the cars are."

"So this is where you guys hung out all summer?" I try to look at the cars in the drive to see if I recognize any of them.

"Oh, we did _a lot_ more than hang," Alice says with a smirk and a laugh.

I see a lake in the distance, beyond the big house as I pull onto the gravel drive. There are shirtless guys out on the dock, all looking out over the water.

The minute we're out of the car, a loud gun shot sounds and we see that the guys are shooting skeet.

Rose and Tanya take off running. "Last one there's a rotten egg!"

I put Jake's keys in my back pocket and turn to Alice. "So who all is here?" I can see what looks to be Emmett, Jasper and Sam but I can't tell who the other three guys are.

"The usual. Em, Jazz, Sam, Seth, Paul and Mase. God Bella, you are going to _love_ Mase." She brings her smiling face close to mine when she emphasizes the word love before backing away. "Just wait Bella, I already know it."

Yeah, I'm sure that's _exactly_ what she wants me to do. _Looooove _this guy Mase... so that she can have Jake._ My_ Jake.

She skips a step to bounce up to me and grabs my hand as we walk closer to the dock. Even though I don't know Alice's intentions right now, for sure, I can't help but smile. Alice just does that to me. I'm hungry for her excitement all of the time. I think about just asking her what the note is about but decide against it when I lock eyes with what has to be Mase.

He walks towards us, all tall and confident, with a beer in one hand and a cup in the other. If_ this_ guy is Mase, then Alice is right. He_ is_ hot. I can't take my eyes off of him as the three of us stalk closer to each other. He's tall and lean with just enough muscle mass to make him appear strong but not bulky. He has a beautiful, strong jaw line, with apple butter colored hair, and a smile that tells me he knows everything that I'm thinking this very moment.

My stomach flips as we get close enough to see he has beautiful blue-green eyes, flawless skin, and a manly five o'clock shadow.

My eyes never leave his as I come to a stop right in front of him. He looks down at me staring, never taking his eyes off of me, smiling wide as he says "Hi."

Of course I'm stuck, in quicksand that only I know exists, just smiling as he stands there, watching me, staring back at him. I'll sink into the depths of no return if I don't speak soon. Alice saves me.

"Bella, this is Mase. Mase this is Bella." I can feel the excitement rolling off of Alice as she looks back and forth between new guy and myself.

I continue smiling really big while saying "Hi," and gazing, like a star struck teenager, from underneath Jake's hat, up at Mase.

"You girls go on down," he says as he jerks his head to gesture towards the end of the dock where everyone else is. "I'll be back in a few." Bringing his eyes back to us, he smiles down at me again, slowly he stepping around me, barely grazing my arm as I turn to remain face to face with him. He takes steps backwards as we continue to stare at each other.

And then he makes my insides come alive with desire as he looks me up and down and says "Nice to meet you, Bella," while walking away, backwards. "Don't you go anywhere before I get back." And that's when I ask myself who I am again. Who am I dating and am I still mad?

I ain't _even_ mad.

"I'll be here... right here." I say as I smile brightly while I watch him walk away. I don't care that I'm paralyzed and staring. I'm in my own little fantasy snow globe of pretty feelings right now. I don't want to move. I want to feel this lusty flutter forever.

I'm brought back to reality at the touch of Alice's hand while her amazing energy channels back and forth between the two of us. She looks at me smiling with an I-told-you-so look on her face as I ask her "What just happened?"

"Ah Bella, let's just have some fun while we're here. Don't question anything, let all your worries and concerns go," She tugs me as she starts running. "And get your ass down here with me so that I can get my hands on Jasper."

Something tells me that Alice doesn't want Jake for herself and that I've read her all wrong, or maybe that's just me telling myself that to get by and remain in denial that my best friend would ever do that to me in the first place. Whatever is going on will be dealt with later, for now... I just want to have fun.

It's funny how some things seem so big, and so dramatic, and so oh-my-god-you're-ruining-my-life, and then one person can come into your life and change your view on things, just by meeting them.

I release Alice's hand and dream-step down the dock. The loud gun shots don't even faze me. I see Alice flinch with each shot, but I'm captivated by my emotions. I want to know this guy Mase. I want to be near this guy Mase and I'm not leaving until he gets back from where-ever he's going.

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><p><strong>AN: I have no beta, all mistakes are mine. Thank you to surething302 for always being there. Click review and let me know your thoughts? More Mase to come in the next chapter, we'll see if you like him as much as I do :)**


	3. Chapter 3 Dig

**DISCLAIMER: I hate disclaimers. Stephenie Meyer obviously owns all Twilight characters, not me... I mean, I'dve kept writing them just to keep Rob around if they were mine... so yeah. **

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><p>CHAPTER THREE:<p>

The sun was setting as the water lapped against the dock. Sounds of Bob Marley wafted out from the stereo, down the dock and into the giant square space that opened to bench seats all around.

We lined the wooden bench seats, each with cups of beer in hand. A large tree stump sat in the middle of the dock with cups lined up for beer pong. I watched Paul toss the ball as Emmett looked on with a taunting "Pussy!" in his ear. It was all in good faith. I liked watching them get the best of each other this way. It made me feel like I had been gone for so long. I really loved going to see my dad... but a summer away, when you're eighteen, is huge.

I felt my pocket buzz and pulled my phone out. Jake had called six times since we had dropped his car off. Jasper and Jake had never gotten along so Jasper was more than happy to have me climb into his backseat after Alice and I parked Jake's Jeep. I didn't bother to take the keys back to the locker room, I just left them in his cup holder and sent him a text letting him know that I borrowed his car, left the keys inside it and that we needed to talk later. I mean hell, I had just gotten back yesterday and already I had doubts about Jake's faithfulness.

After seeing that Jasper and Alice were an obvious couple, I didn't feel like the note had anything to do with Jake and Alice anymore but I knew there was something going on. Something that Alice was trying to get to the bottom of herself by talking to Jake about it.

I looked at Jake's text, pressed ignore and looked up to see Mase had finally arrived back. Trying to act nonchalant as I noticed him walking down the dock towards us, I became extremely interested in the text I had just ignored. If he could so nonchalantly stay away from me for so long after that Disney introduction we had, then I could certainly act the same about remembering I had met him in the first place.

Don't look up. Read that text again.

**Bella I need to see you tonight. I can explain everything she saw.**

Delete.

Menu.

Don't be mad. Do not obsess on what "she saw" and what that last text means.

Scroll

Scroll

Open Twitter

I type out a passive aggressive tweet, aimed at Jake, because I'm immature and that's what I do. Bad idea. Jake follows me, he'll just send more texts and I really don't want him to harass me right now.

I decide to just send Jake a text back, to appease him so that he won't continue on. I tell myself not to look up, to keep focused on the text.

**I'm hanging with Alice tonight. Be home later. Call you tomorrow.**

Act cool, act cool. He's got to be close by now.

The sun is setting and I can see the glow of the tiki torches from the corner of my eyes. I hear his footsteps as he comes closer but remain looking at my phone until I sense a shadow and can feel his energy.

Scroll

Scroll

Don't look up. Oh man, it's totally obvious that I'm not having a conversation, he probably knows I'm deflecting.

I feel him sit down beside me, his arms stretch wide, one behind me and the other out to his side and I can't help it. I've got to participate now. It's undeniable that he draws me in.

I turn in his direction looking straight at him and smile with a "Hello," as he smiles back, licks his lips, hands me a cold beer, and speaks in the most quiet voice.

"Bella."

And he just looks at me. Like he's known me forever. Like I'm not the most nervous girl in the world right now.

And I just lock up.

He smiles and waits for me to act like a normal human being.

I smile back, open mouthed and paralyzed by him. And so I let out a small laugh and a "Hey."

My chest feels like it's filling with tiny tickle-ish marbles. I'm not used to being around, or being this close to guys this compelling so I feel a slight tinge of embarrassment and I also feel a little shy. I know that If I say anything right now, my nerves will give me away, so I chug the beer I'm holding.

Gulp

Gulp

Gulp

Sip

I compose myself by sitting up straight and taking a breath as I wipe the corner of my mouth on my sleeve.

I notice he's staring and I feel timid but I look anyway. He looks like he wants to laugh at me.

"I guess it's a good thing that I brought you a fresh beer. Remind me not to challenge you to a keg stand."

"Hiccup." I grab my mouth and internally roll my eyes... at myself.

His deep voice booms next to me. "Jasper, pass me the Mossberg?"

Jasper puts his beer down walking to the corner of the dock, grabbing the shotgun and bringing it back in our direction. Mase stands quickly, grabbing the gun that Jasper holds out to him from across the bench. I look up at Mase as he turns away from me, bringing the gun up to aim and a loud shot rings out over the water, scaring me enough that I let out a loud squeal.

He unloads another round before laying the gun on the bench beside him. My heart is racing... it isn't just from the gun shot, either.

When he sits back down, his legs spread wide apart and so close that his thigh is flush with mine as he lays both of his arms out behind us. His long legs stretch out and his posture screams his comfort here.

"Did I scare your hiccups away?"

He's looking at me with a beautiful smile. His face is close. And I think that maybe this guy is a little too much for me.

"I think you did," I smirked.

He stands up, moving in front of me while reaching for my hand.

I feel his fingers touch mine, and they're rough. Not smooth like Jake's. He has man hands, big, strong hands with long fingers. "Good. finish that beer," He squeezes and let's go of my hand. "Let's go for a boat ride."

_Wow_. Confident doesn't even cover this guy. He's actually a little bossy.

"I'm kind of comfortable right here." I tell him just to put up a little front of rebellion. I've never been one to embrace authority, and besides I am comfortable right here... with_ him_.

He squats down in front of me and grabs both of my hands this time, while looking at me as we come face to face. He leans in and says "You aren't scared to get in my boat are you? You _can_ swim, right?"

I lean in closer and whisper "I was a guppy on the swim team when I was little. I grew to win plenty of awards. I can out swim you any day."

I feel his mouth press against my ear as he says "I got a good look at your legs earlier, I believe you. I won't ever challenge you in the water, how's that?"

"Smart guy," I said while thinking to myself _who am I_ and begging myself to please quit being a dork. I drank the only sip of my beer that remained as he jumped down to the lower dock and into the boat to crank it. I might have a little buzz. I might be drunk. I'm definitely one of the two.

Alice heard the boat start and she had Jasper by the hand, dragging him over and down to the dock to come along as well. "Please let me drive this time!" Jasper and Alice move down the stairs hand in hand. They really are a cute couple. I wonder why they've just come together, over this summer, while I was gone, when we had all been friends for so long. What changed? What made them decide, all of a sudden, that being together was a great idea? Not that I wasn't _for_ it... just.

I walk down the steps and I see Mase came over to the edge of the boat helping Jasper and Alice climb aboard. The torches light up his face so that I can see his tanned skin, right where the sun kissed his cheeks today. His hair isn't sticking up all crazy like it was earlier. Looks like the long day has relaxed it and it lying against his forehead now. He's just some kind of beautiful.

As I come closer I can smell the gasoline and I like the smell. It reminds me of all my years here, when my father still lived here. Memories of Charlie and I flash through my mind. I remember the day Charlie taught me how to fish and how excited I was to catch my first one.

Charlie used to wake me up when it was still dark outside and take me to the diner. We would ride in his old red truck with the bouncy seats. Cars don't have those bouncy seats anymore with the old, old leather smell. When we would arrive at the diner and take a seat at our usual table, the order would always be the same. Both of us would have a sausage biscuit with a side of gravy. Mom couldn't cook to save her life, so having a home made biscuit was more than a treat for us, it was heaven. I would eat, as Charlie would tease me about how he was going to catch more fish than me and when we finished we would tell Delilah, the waitress, goodbye. With full bellies, we'd head to "the honey-hole" as Charlie called it, and go fishing.

.

.

.

Charlie taught me everything I know. It's only been two days, but I miss him already.

.

.

I see Mase holding his hands out to help me onto the boat. My tummy does that nervous thing it does when I get excited, or when I see a handsome guy named Mase reaching his hands out for me.

_For me_.

I take a step to grab his hands and as soon as I have them he reaches with both of our hands to my waist, and picks me up, bringing my torso to his chest while carrying me over the boat and setting me down on board.

My hips stay a blaze even after he removes his hands. This guy. There's something about him. He makes my heart race.

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><p><strong>AN: This chapter update goes out to LadyNiki, JadoreJAC, Nicficwhisperer, Erikajo and evilnat because they are my only readers LOLOLOL (with the exception of you phantom alerters out there, I see you guys too). No beta guys, sorry, I'm just too lazy to burden someone with my stuffs. So umm, I'll just drop this here… if you wanna chat you can find me PAWsPeaches on twitter … I, originally, didn't intend to let anyone know my alter because my other story, Here In My Room, is special to me and I'm passionate about it so that can be VERY scary, putting yourself out there, but now that friends of mine are reading it, it's time I let you know…As always, many thanks to surething302 for always being there. XOXO**


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